Dimensions: support: 512 x 612 x 19 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Adrian Stokes | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Adrian Stokes' "Still Life" presents an ethereal gathering of glass objects. How does this arrangement strike you? Editor: It’s hushed. I notice the subdued palette, almost monochromatic. It feels quiet, domestic—perhaps even melancholic. Curator: Given Stokes’ engagement with psychoanalysis, one could interpret this as a contemplation on memory and absence, the ghostly nature of everyday objects imbued with personal significance. Editor: I am drawn to the visible brushstrokes and how they interact with light. The layering of paint almost obscures the objects, yet reveals the artist's process, the labor involved in rendering each reflection. Curator: Indeed, the textures evoke a sense of tactile intimacy, perhaps hinting at the social history embedded within the forms. Editor: Seeing it this way, it prompts a reconsideration of the emotional weight in something that appears so simple. Curator: Absolutely, inviting reflection on the interplay between art, memory, and the materiality of existence. Editor: It makes me want to examine the materials themselves, to trace the hands that shaped these forms we’re observing.
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Stokes graduated from Oxford in 1923 and published his first book two years later. In the following years he wrote many books and articles about modern art, and on the appreciation of Italian Renaissance art and architecture.In the 1930s he began to paint landscapes, still lifes and nudes as a practical extension of his criticism. His paintings are characterised by their broken brushwork and even tones. This painting is part of a group of eight works bequeathed to Tate by his friend and admirer, David Sylvester. Gallery label, September 2004
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